SOUTH BURLINGTON

VIEW & SUBMIT

Students Step Up for CDC

In the library of South Burlington High School (SBHS) is a modest-sized office that is reserved for the school’s Career Development Center (CDC). According to its mission statement, the CDC “[provides] assistance and resources to students and alumni for their life long career development.” Though many students filter in and out, a few are a constant presence: the student CDC staff.

Even a small office requires students to take on various roles to keep it running smoothly. Senior Taylor Wells is the public relations/marketing coordinator, a job that entails decorating bulletin boards throughout the school with volunteer opportunities, jobs, internships, and tutoring positions. Sophomores Avi Cohen and Brandon Lee have similar roles as weekly bulletin assistants. Wells is also mentoring sophomores William Wong, marketing specialist, and marketing assistant Sophia Khosravi, so they can take over her responsibilities when she graduates.

A pair of students, junior Melissa Valgoi and senior Kelsey Macart, each has the job title Career/Job EXPO Co-Coordinator. They help organize the premier event, contact the companies that will attend, and generally ensure that everything falls into place just in time. Sophomores Zanetta Sulley and Frankie Karnedy are currently being mentored under the upperclassmen so they may take charge of the EXPO in the future. Karnedy is also assisting Valgoi and training Cohen and Lee to take over the CDC Weekly Bulletin.

Junior Elise Turner acts as a liaison between the CDC, the National Honor Society, and the Coalition for Community Service. Junior Luke Beatty contributes by keeping track of students’ volunteer hours from events, internships, and tutoring, among other things, in the CDC’s database. Lastly, junior Mehul Shah organizes the school’s annual CDC Appreciation Day for all students who have documented their volunteer hours with the CDC throughout the year. He also recruits students from the middle school to join the CDC.

When asked what they have gleaned from their responsibilities, the volunteers’ typical responses were the ability to aid others, gain professional contacts, meet new people, and learn about different opportunities available, such as scholarships and internships. The one thing they all appreciated was the ability to accrue community service hours through their roles during the school day. Thus, many are willing to continue their positions in coming years and some will even be promoted.